Pontifical Mass celebrating St. John Henry Newman

All are welcome to attend a Pontifical Mass in celebration of Saint John Henry Newman (1801-1890): an English theologian and poet whose remarkable journey brought him from Anglican ministry into the Catholic Church as a priest of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, and eventually as a cardinal. The liturgy will be celebrated by the Most Reverend Steven J. Lopes, Bishop of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. The homily will be preached by the Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez, Archbishop of Philadelphia.

Bishop Lopes will celebrate Mass according to 'Divine Worship': the missal used by the Personal Ordinariates. The 'Divine Worship' Missal is a form of Mass fully authorized by Rome, which brings the best of the Anglican tradition of worship in the English language from the Book of Common Prayer, as well as the Anglo-Catholic ceremonial tradition of the English Missal, into the full communion of the Catholic Church. For more information on the Personal Ordinariates, please visit the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter's website at this link.

The Durandus Institute is assisting the Ordinariate with a special program of sacred music of the English choral tradition, including works of William Byrd and Edward Elgar, the hymnody of St. John Henry Newman, and Anglican chant psalmody, together with the traditional Roman patrimony of Gregorian chant. We welcome as a special guest conductor Dr. Kevin M. Clarke, who currently serves as Director of Music for St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Sugar Land, Texas, and comes to us with a wealth of experience in leading music for Anglican churches, as well as the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite.

Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral Basilica of Philadelphia on Thursday, October 7 at 7pm. We will also have a public recitation of the Rosary before the start of Mass, in honor of the feast of the day (Our Lady of the Rosary).